The history of the Porsche 911: picture special

The millionth 911 has just rolled off the production line. Autocar takes a look at some of the highlights from the car's storied history

1963 901: The original 911 nomenclature. This name had to change when Peugeot protested, claiming commercial rights on cars with three-digit names with a zero in the middle.

1968 911: 1968 was the year the 911 was installed with numerous new safety features, including of all things, dull windscreen wipers to minimise the risk of blinding the driver at the wheel.

1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7: Porsche’s homologation 911 for Group 4 racing proved hugely popular with all 500 examples selling straight away, so Porsche extended the run to 1580.

1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7: Porsche’s homologation 911 for Group 4 racing proved hugely popular with all 500 examples selling straight away, so Porsche extended the run to 1580.

1974 911 2.7: From 1974 onwards, 911s featured the characteristic bumper bellows, to aid low-speed collision safety. They were incorporated for the next 15 years and became a classic feature on this incarnation of 911.

1975 911 Turbo: The ‘Whaletail’ also featured on the earlier 1975 911 turbo, as did crippling turbo lag and knife-edge handling. Nevertheless, acceleration was blistering from the now 3.0-litre engine.

Porsche’s 935 racecar won 123 of the 370 races it entered, earning it a fearsome reputation, with theatrical bursts of fire being spat out of the exhaust from the turbo and mechanical injection.

1967 Targa: 911 Targas were not always fitted with glass rear windows; the original 1967 911 Targa featured a ‘soft window’, however time and wear have made these an extremely rare classic.

1978 935 "Moby Dick": So-called because of its white livery, outrageous long rear end and large rear wing, the 935 “Moby Dick” boasted a speed of 235mph on the Le Mans straight, easily faster than any of its competitors.

1979 911 SC: The 1978 911 SC arguably saved the 911 from being axed by Porsche; its hefty price tag did not stop Porsche from shifting 4,214 in its first year alone.

A custom Porsche of sorts, the Slantnose was a standard 930, except special orders which requested the slant nose of the 935, instantly creating a much sought-after Porsche classic.

1984 911 Carrera 3.2: The first Carrera-badged Porsche in seven years, with a much larger engine capacity getting it to 60mph in 5.0 seconds. The Carrera was back with a bang.

1984 SC RS rally car (Rothmans): 20 250bhp, Rothmans 911s were produced during Porsche’s alliance with Prodrive, with Rothmans’ iconic racing livery marking each one out. Each example cost more than double a standard 911.

Another Porsche to hold the title of fastest street-legal production car in the world at 195mph, the high-tech 959 has been hailed as one of the all-time great supercars.

‘Ruf’ means ‘reputation’ in German, and what a reputation it has built! A top speed of 211mph is quick for today’s standards, but in 1987 this was utterly blistering.

1989 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster: A radical variant on the normal 911, the speedster featured a slicker angled windscreen and characteristic ‘humped’ cover for the convertible roof. Only 139 were produced in right-hand-drive.

964 Turbo: Using the same engine from the 930 was a risky move by Porsche, but the 964 Turbo had minor alterations, which greatly improved performance and refinement.

964 Carrera RS: The stripped-down, lightweight 964 Carrera RS was based on part of Porsche’s racing pedigree; the Carrera Cup, and the performance figures more than showed this.

993 Carrera: Even though 911 production still runs 20 years later, it is hailed by 911 purists as ‘the last true 911’ as it was the last to feature the longstanding air-cooled engine.

993 Turbo: The first turbocharged 911 with four-wheel-drive, the 993 Turbo was also the world’s fastest production car when it was released in 1995, and was Porsche’s last air-cooled Turbo.

964 Carrera 4: With elements derived from the world-beating 959, the 964 Carrera 4 was always going to be good. It maintained the original’s styling cues while modernising the design.

1995 911 Carrera RS 3.8: The ‘Whaletail’ rear spoiler set the Carrera RS clearly apart from other 911s, while on the inside the engine capacity was increased from 3.6 to 3.8 litres.

993 Widebody RS Clubsport: Characterised by its enormous rear wing and extended front spoiler, the 993 Widebody RS Clubsport was made to be used in Porsche’s Porsche-only Supercup races.

996 Carrera: Porsche’s changeover to water-cooled engines saw an almost complete overhaul in the 996 911, its most radically changed incarnation since the dawn of the 911 in 1963.

996 GT3: Named after the class of racing it was aimed for, the GT3 was another stripped-down Porsche ready for the track and road, weighing in at just 1,350kg.

996 GT3 RS: The GT3 RS had Porsche’s obsession with weight-saving taken to a new level; even the Porsche enamel badge was replaced with a sticker to save weight.

9ff GT9R: The ultimate in extreme 911s, the 9ff GT9R truly showcased the potential behind the 911, with nigh-on 1000bhp, a top speed of 257mph and sub-three-second 0-62 time.

2008 E-Ruf: German Porsche modifier Ruf has unveiled the world’s first professionally built electric 911, the eRUF. The prototype replaces the flat six engine with a three-phase motor powered by lithium-ion batteries good for around 455lb ft.

2009 997 Turbo: We described the car in 2009 as "Mind blowing. The bare performance figures - 0-to-62mph in 3.4sec, 0-to-100mph in 7.0sec and 193mph top speed - hint at something very special and better its predecessor in each case."

2013 Carrera Cup: Porsche’s one-make racing championship, the Carrera Cup, is a racing franchise aimed at racing only 911 Carreras. Championships happen around the world, with numerous national and international races.

New versus old: Which would you take?

The current 911 adds turbochargers to the lower-end cars in the range, in the interest of fuel economy and emissions...

...meanwhile, in motorsport, the 911 RSR has gone mid-engined; a landmark move for Porsche.

The next 911 will be exclusively turbocharged; you won't get a naturally-aspirated 911 from 2019 onwards. There'll also be a hybrid.

The Porsche 911 story actually started with the 901 in 1963. It was penned by Ferdinand ‘Butzi’ Porsche, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who was famed for designing the Volkswagen Beetle.

Porsche’s replacement for the 356 was originally set to be sold as the 901, its internal design number. But Peugeot claimed the rights to three-digit car names with zero in the middle, so Porsche changed the name, and the 911 moniker was born.

The 911 originally had a 2.0-litre air-cooled flat six engine, mounted, of course, in the rear of the car. Butzi’s 901 design, in essence, lasted until 1993.

Over the years Porsche carried out myriad styling tweaks and changes, as well as numerous engine capacity upgrades, ultimately expanding to 3.2 litres in the 1983 Carrera 3.2 and again to 3.6 litres in the 964.

The Targa was introduced in 1967, through Porsche’s misinformation that convertibles were to be made illegal in the US. The name was chosen after Porsche’s multiple triumphs in the Targa Florio race. It wasn’t until the 1983 model that a fully fledged convertible was available, after being revealed as a concept in 1981.

In 1988 the 911 Classic was finally replaced by the 964, the most radically altered 911 since its introduction. With a more modern design, the 964 followed the same 911 recipe until its replacement in 1993 by the 993.

Due to it being the last air-cooled incarnation, 993 is hailed by hardcore Porsche purists as “the last true 911”. Nonetheless, the 996 replaced it in 1998, again with the boast of being the most thoroughly overhauled 911 model since 911s began. It also went on to become the best-selling 911; over 170,000 were sold.

The 911 then went back to its trademark ‘bug-eye’ headlights when the ‘teardrop’ headlighted 996 was replaced in 2004 by the 997. It had remarkable longevity, lasting over eight years albeit slightly broken up by a 2009 facelift. The 997 also spawned the special edition Sport Classic, celebrating Porsche’s long heritage and featuring a ‘duck-tail’ spoiler and Fuchs alloys.

The first 911 Turbo was released in 1975, with a comparatively large 3.0-litre engine, ‘whale tail’ spoiler and trademark wide bodywork. In 1993 the 993-generation 911 Turbo was given another turbocharger and four-wheel drive.

Porsche’s current 911 Turbo sports three turbochargers when it is introduced later in 2013.

Since its debut at the 1963 Frankfurt motor show, one million 911s have been built, and Porsche claims that 70% of these are still roadworthy. The millionth 911 has been kept by Porsche, and will reside in its collection after a world tour.

The firm has treated the race track as a lab test; two-thirds of Porsche’s 30,000 race wins were in a 911.

Its popularity isn’t hard to explain, but it was Ferdinand Porsche who best described its qualities: “The 911 is the only car you could drive on an African safari or at Le Mans, to the theatre or through New York city traffic.”

Now, we're looking forward to the next 911, which should arrive in 2019, with revised styling, exclusively six-cylinder turbocharged engines, and a 911 hybrid in 2020.

In the meantime since the 911 became Porsche's trademark car, the brand's lineup has expanded greatly, with the introduction of the Cayman and Boxster, Cayenne and Macan SUVs, and Panamera and Panamera Sport Turismo. From a manufacturer exclusively of sports cars, Porsche has become a major player in the premium segment, with entries into the most hotly-contested segments.